By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

And as part of that effort, it's undergoing a major overhaul itself.

The Grand Island YMCA kicked off its Activate America Program on Jan. 1 in collaboration with the YMCA of the USA, with a goal of encouraging community members to adopt healthier lifestyles.

Now, the nonprofit organization is retraining its staff, surveying its members, reaching out to the community and planning for future remodeling projects, said Thor Larson, executive director of the Grand Island YMCA.

The organization is changing the way it approaches those looking to get fit and has plans to work with both YMCA members and nonmembers alike, he said.

"We want to reach beyond our walls to get involved in activities outside of here," Larson said.

That's the goal, even if those activities make no mention of the YMCA.

While the level of obesity is increasing, the number of those actively seeking health and wellness programs has not changed during the last 10 to 15 years, Larson said.

Decades of research in metropolitan YMCAs has shown that relationships and personal connections to a group or organization play a huge role in whether someone seeks out fitness programs, he said. People need a "workout buddy," moral support and a sense of community to make healthy choices and exercise a way of life.

"If we can help people get to that balance in life, whether it be spiritual, mental, physical, that's what we want to do," Larson said.

The Grand Island YMCA wants to be known as a community resource a place anyone can turn to if they need advice on how to live a healthier life.

It doesn't matter if people choose to be members of other fitness clubs or no club at all, Larson said. The Y just wants to help however it can.

"It doesn't matter where they go ... as long as they are seeking health and wellness," Larson said. "That is our concern."

The most noticeable change YMCA members may see right away is the shift in the organization's mission.

Senior staff members have already been sent around the country to receive Activate America training and are now passing what they learned along to the YMCA's other staff members.

"We're all having to change the way we listen, work and develop programs for people in the future," said Cara Lemburg, senior director of the Grand Island YMCA.

YMCA employees will also be conducting member surveys as part of that process.

Using that data, the Grand Island YMCA has plans to launch programming in the fall that specifically coincides with Activate America and the needs of the Grand Island community, Lemburg said.

And in the future, the local YMCA will modify its building to foster a stronger sense of community, Larson said. They may get a new entryway, more lounge areas and a library, for example.

Overall, Activate America should help Grand Island residents feel better about themselves and adopt a healthier lifestyle, Lemburg and Larson said.

"We just want to help our community bridge that gap from seeking wellness to actually achieving wellness," Larson said.